Harrow



, (No Model.)

I. s. RQWELL. 'HAR'ROW No. 332,562. Patented Dec. 15, 1885.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. ROVELL, ,OF BEAVER DAM, WISCONSIN.v

HARROW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 332,562I dated December 15, 1885.

Application filed June 29, 18E5.

Vand I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawl ings, and to the letters of reference markedv thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to harrows having a spring action on the part of the teeth or teeth- I supports, to those having adjustable teeth, and also to harrows having iiexible frames.

The objects and nature of the invention will fully appear from the following description and claims. Y

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a double-frame harrow containing all my improvements. Fig. 2 isa side elevation, and Fig. 3 is an elevation of a tooth constructed to hold the toothbeam to the spring-metal strap by which it is connected with the main frame-beams. Fig. 4 is a modification of the form of the spring-strap.

Describing the exact construction illustrated, A A are beams which run from front to rear of the machine. B B are transverse tooth-beams, or beams to which the teeth are directly attached. C C are spring metal straps secured at their front ends to the main frame-beams A A, and running downwardly and rearwardly from the attachment at their rear ends of the tooth-beams B. DD are the teeth. E isa draft-beam connected with each of the frame-beams A by connections c, and provided with a central hook or clevis for the attachment of the horse or team.

For the purpose of flexibility in each section of the harrow, the main or upper longitudinal beams A A thereof have no connection with each other except through the toothbeams B and the springs C C; but when two sections are employed to make the double harrow shown the inner beams A A of the two sections are hinged together by eycbolts of the usual .form for this purpose, as indicated sufficiently at c. The tooth-beams are rigid, but are liexibly joined with the beams A by means of the spring-metal straps C C,

Serial No. 170,122. (No model.)

which incline downwardly and rearwardly,

as shown, and are stiff enough to hold the teeth movably to their work, and to'sustain the framebeams clear of the tooth-beams. The said straps are therefore capable of such torsion as will give each section of the harrow a desired degree of flexibility, oras will,'for example, allow one corner of the section to rise over an obstacle without lifting the three other corners from the ground, or as will allow the section to adjust itself to ordinary inequalities in the ground-surface. The front straps, C, are extended over the rounded ends of the beams A, as shown, both to bring the front tooth-beam farther forward, and to furnish a shoe for the protection of the wood when the harrow is being drawn bottom up over theground in moving it from or to the field. All the said straps are fastened tothe beams A by two bolts to hold the straps in place beneath the beams. The rear or free ends of the straps C are curved upward, so as to present a concaved upper surface, c, beneath the tooth-beam, and each strap is provided with two holes-one, c', at the lowest or a little in front of the lowest point of the concave, and the other, c2, behind the former-said holes to be used alternatively for the attachment of the beam. The beam is held at each end to a strap, G, by means of a bolt passing through one or the other of these holes, and to be better held the under surface of the beams is shown curved or convex where it bears on the strap. The mere application of the holding-bolt thus gives the desired direction to the teeth. For example, when the bolt occupies the front hole, c, the teeth are held vertical, or substantially so, and when it occupies the rearhole the teeth are held inclined rearwardly. In the first position of the teeth their action is more rank, while in the second vposition they are less so, as desired sometimes for smoothing or other special work.

To avoid the use of tooth-beams of unnecessary length, the extreme teeth on some of the beams may be made to serve as bolts for attaching the beams to the straps by making these teeth with shanks d and nuts d', as shown in Fig. 3.

The draft-beam beams A by means of short connections or E is connected with the IOO 'it may be drawn as upon runners77 harrow provided with straps sustaining the.

chains c, which by their iexibility` permit the several beams Ato rise and fall in accordance 4with. the character of the ground-surface.

When the harrowis to be drawn to or from the iield, it may be turned over upon the beams A, and the spring-straps uphold the heads of the teeth clear of the ground, so that The tooth-beams in this manner has the sameadvantages, in point of portability, as have those which are provided with Wide or deepE runners, especially adapted to sustain them when reversed, while at the same time being much lighter and more simple in construction by reason of the absence of such'runners.

While the abovedescribed details of construction are believed to be desirable inthe embodiment of my invention in its best form', I am not restricted thereto-as, for example, it is not essential to the general purposes of the springs C that they be so inclined as to bring the heads of the teeth below the upper surface of the beams A for the purpose of clearing the ground whenvthe harrow is turned bottomup,and generally the appended claims,v except where they specify particular pur'- poses, are intendedr to embrace the construetion substantially as therein described', when in form to secure either of the functions, pur

poses, or advantages belonging to said construction, though so varied that it will not'secure all of them.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, with the transverse tooth-beams B, of separate beams A A, running from front to rear, and downwardly and rearwardly directed metal springs C C, connecting the beams A and B, said beams B and springs C Caffording t-he only connection between the beams A A, substantially as described.

2. The combinatiomwith longitudinal beams -A and transverse tooth-beams B, of downwardly and rearwardly directed metal springs C, fastened at their front ends to the beams A, and curved at their rear and free ends, said tooth-beams being' adjustably attached upon the curved portions of the springs, whereby the inclination of theteeth may be varied., substantially as described".

3. The combi-nation, withthe transverse tooth-beams Bi, of separate beams A A, running` from front to` rear, and springs C C, confnecting the beamsAl and B and sustaining the teeth -l`1eads clear of the groundwhen the harrow isovertu rned, said beams B andsprings C affording the only connectionV between the beams A A, substantially as described.

In testimony that Iclaim the foregoing as my' invention I affix my signature inpresence of` two witnesses; n l

Y lJOHN S. HOWELL.' lVit'nesses:A

H. `W. KEYEs', L. W. BARBER. 

